The invention relates to a method for determining electrolytic process current efficiency in galvanic baths.
In metal precipitation, fluctuations in the current efficiency lead to fluctuations in the layer thickness, particularly when the precipitation process is only conducted according to current density and exposure time (number of ampere-hours). The current efficiency depends not only on the content of the bath components but, rather, also depends on an entire series of influencing parameter values which cannot be identified with standard, analytical methods. Therefore, pure ampere-hour numbers and the usual, analytical monitoring of the bath are not sufficient criteria for keeping the layer thickness constant. On the contrary, what is determinant for keeping a specific layer thickness constant is the product i.times.t.times.N, whereby i is the current (or, respectively, the current density), t is the exposure time, and N is the current efficiency.